2022 Cirro Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough Valley 750 ml

We tallied the ratings, and the results are clear: Last year’s 2021 Cirro was our member’s favorite New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc—ever.  And this one hails from an even better vintage.

It’s thrilling, racy stuff, clean and sharp as an icicle. Explosive kaffir lime, passionfruit, and grapefruit-peel aromatics give way to a sinuous, kinetic texture on the palate, wired with electric acidity. 

Hot on the heels of 2021, where frosts and poor weather punished the vines at flowering, the 2022 growing season left winemakers grinning from ear to ear. The start of the vintage was warm, fostering perfect clusters of grapes. Those warm and dry conditions repeated themselves in the final phase of harvest, as balmy days led into cool nights and created optimal conditions for perfect Sauvignon Blanc.

Cirro is run by two accomplished Australian winemakers, David Tyney and Richard Green, who spend most of their time consulting around the world on wines from a range of grapes and regions. They paired up on this passion project to focus on one grape from one very particular terroir: Sauvignon Blanc from the Wairau Valley in Marlborough.  

Here, vineyards with fine, well-draining alluvial soils, influenced by the region’s proximity to riverbed fog and mountain breezes, give birth to some of the most prized Sauvignon Blanc in the world. Meticulously farmed plots eke out small yields, and the resulting wines are concentrated and intense.